Faculty, staff, and leaders across campus have continued making progress to advance a range of IUB 2030 initiatives since year two of the strategic plan began this summer.

As the halfway point of year two closes in, momentum is being made across the three strategic plan pillars: Student Success and Opportunity, Transformative Research and Creativity, and Service to the State and Beyond. Additional results from the strategic plan’s first year have recently been released on the metrics dashboard for IU Bloomington.

Learn more about progress that’s been made on several key IUB 2030 initiatives to build upon the long-term existing strengths at IU Bloomington:

Experience for first-year students

As part of an effort to integrate academic and student life and help new students thrive, a steering committee — co-chaired by Lamar Hylton, vice provost for student life, and Vasti Torres, vice provost for undergraduate education — is moving forward with plans to launch a new, cohesive first-year student experience. Initiatives include reimagined welcome weeks and new programming.

Graphic by Steph Slone, Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President

General education and new first-year seminar

Members of the Bloomington Faculty Council’s Long-Range Planning Committee began work this fall to revise the general education curriculum. During the current academic year, the focus will be on determining the curriculum’s framework and collaborating with academic unit leadership and student groups.

They are also considering how to incorporate a new first-year seminar for future incoming undergraduates — a key element of IUB 2030.

Experiential learning

The experiential learning working group submitted its work to campus leadership for consideration. Paige Andersson was hired as the senior assistant vice provost for experiential learning — a new position within the Division of Undergraduate Education created to drive IUB 2030 experiential learning initiatives.

Over the next academic year, Undergraduate Education will work toward the goal of creating structures for:

• Approving co-curricular experiential learning.
• Tracking experiential learning activities.
• Working with faculty to implement an experiential learning requirement.
• Creating more experiential learning opportunities for students.

Crimson Course Transformation

The eight courses that participated in the Crimson Course Transformation in the spring and summer have implemented changes to improve student success. The courses that participated typically have a large number of students receiving D or F grades or withdrawing from the course.

Faculty members participating in the initiative attended workshops and an intensive three-week summer seminar as part of their training and implemented changes to the courses this fall. Specialized course observations are underway to evaluate the efforts’ impact. Invitations have been sent to faculty to participate in a future cohort of the initiative.

Graduate and professional career development

Career services for graduate and professional students continue to expand with events, workshops, group support and one-to-one career coaching.

The Graduate School Bloomington conducted the first administration of a graduate student experiences survey. IU Bloomington is a member of the national SERU Consortium of schools that regularly conduct this survey.

The Graduate School Bloomington hired a new graduate ombudsperson who will begin in January.

New undergraduate academic offerings

The following new undergraduate degrees have been developed and received final approval:

• Bachelor of Science in music business in the Jacobs School of Music and the Kelley School of Business.
• Bachelor of Science in music production in the Jacobs School of Music.
• Bachelor of Science in Public Health in sexual and reproductive health in the School of Public Health-Bloomington.

New graduate academic offerings

The following new graduate degrees have been developed and received final approval:

• An online Master of Science in education in evidence-based practices in educational psychology in the School of Education.
• Education Specialist in Higher Education Administration in the School of Education.
• Master of Public Policy in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
• Master of Design Leadership in the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design.
• Master of Geographic Information Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences.
• Master of Science in economics and data science in the College and the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering.
• Master of Legal Studies in the Maurer School of Law.
• Master of Science in nutrition in the School of Public Health-Bloomington.

An additional three graduate certificates and seven Accelerated Master’s Program pathways have been added this academic year.

New student-focused working groups

A classroom needs analysis working group, chaired by School of Education Dean Stacy Morrone, was convened in July at the provost’s request. It is gathering data from a variety of sources to analyze classroom space needs across campus and will submit a report of recommendations by the end of December.

Vicka Bell-Robinson, associate vice provost for involvement and belonging in the Office of Student Life, is chairing a working group to create a holistic approach to student belonging and inclusion on campus.

Transfer student experience

A working group focused on the transfer student experience met throughout the year to research how to best support new transfer students and enhance transfer student pathways. A report with recommendations was submitted to campus leadership for consideration.

Recent outcomes of the group’s work include:

• Launching a partnership with Verto Education that enables students to study abroad during their first year and then transfer to IU Bloomington while staying on track for graduation.
• Establishing a new transfer admission office within the Ernie Pyle Welcome Center to provide tailored services for prospective transfer students.
• Partnering with EdVisorly, a mobile app for community college students. The app will feature a dedicated IU profile, with plans to integrate an IU-specific transfer application to streamline the process for prospective students.

Transformational research areas

Four transformational research areas were identified for IU Bloomington as part of the strategic plan: aging, environmental health, artificial intelligence and quantum technology.

The aging and environmental health areas launched first in fall 2023, with leaders and steering committees in place by January 2024. The groups have held multiple events over the past several months, including workshops leading to draft proposals and pilot research projects with plans to seek external funding.

Searches are also underway as part of the Faculty 100 hiring initiative to recruit five new faculty in each area. Steering committees have also been created in the areas of artificial intelligence and quantum technology, and meetings have begun to strategize on building research strength and external grant-seeking.

Faculty awards

With a renewed focus on honoring faculty excellence, the infrastructure to support faculty awards is being strengthened, and a culture of recognition on campus is being cultivated.

A group has come together to take a fresh look at the awards landscape. Cindy Broderick, director of faculty development and recruitment in the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs, is focusing on campus-level awards. Michael Morrone, executive director of the Faculty Academy on Excellence in Teaching and a teaching professor at the Kelley School of Business, is handling university-level awards. Andrew McLaren was hired in a new position within IU Research to manage highly prestigious faculty research awards.

Innovation and entrepreneurship

IU Innovates continues to see substantial growth in the number of active founders and startups it supports. It has significantly expanded its offerings, including events, community-building activities and individualized coaching, and it recently surpassed 100 student members.

Community engagement leader

Rachael Jones-McAfee was hired as the interim executive director for community engagement at IU Bloomington. In the newly created role, she is strengthening key relationships with local stakeholders and identifying collaborative opportunities between community partners and the Bloomington campus across different sectors. She is also developing and implementing a comprehensive plan for community engagement at IU Bloomington.

Carnegie classification

A steering committee was charged with seeking 2026 reclassification for the Carnegie Foundation’s Elective Classification for Community Engagement. The voluntary classification, which IU Bloomington received in 2010 and 2020, involves a self-study to assess the campus’s commitment to, investment in and accomplishment at higher education community engagement.

Staff engagement

Several new staff engagement initiatives are underway to recruit, retain and engage IU Bloomington’s talented staff members.

The nomination process for the 2024 Staff Merit Awards was streamlined, resulting in a 160% increase in nominations. Additionally, the number of awards was expanded from six to eight, and the award amount increased from $1,000 to $2,000.

Changes were also made to the long-service and retirees recognition program, with retirees now recognized at the departmental level during the calendar year in which they reach the milestone.

Beginning in spring 2025, the Bloomington campus will host quarterly new employee welcome sessions. These events will provide an official welcome, an overview of what it means to work at IU and a detailed exploration of the lesser-known benefits of being a staff member.

Stay up to date

Progress updates for these and other IUB 2030 initiatives can be found on the IUB 2030 website.

Caroline Dwyer Gilley is a strategy and innovation specialist in the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President.